Gut health and the link to Autoimmune diseases

Can the health of your gut affect your Autoimmune disease? With 70-80% of your immune system living in your gut most researchers are linking the possibility the state of your gut plays in connection to Autoimmune diseases….but how?¹

In today’s post, I’m going to cover how your gut health can possibly affect your Autoimmune disease, How to avoid an unhealthy gut, and healthy gut habits. 

Gut health?

Gut health is the balance between the good and bad bacteria in our digestive tract aka gut microbiota. A ratio of good and bad bacteria is needed to maintain a healthy gut microbiome. 

When the overall microbiome is thrown out of whack it is referred to as dysbiosis. A persistent dysbiosis of the gut can lead to a leaky gut also known as increased intestinal permeability. This is where the intestinal wall has become damaged creating little tears and cracks in the intestinal lining no longer allowing it to do its job. Resulting in bacteria, toxins, and food particles being released into the bloodstream. Toxins being released into the bloodstream creates an inflammatory response throughout the body. 

*DISCLAIMER:All content and information on this website including our programs, products and/or services is for informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute medical, psychological or health advice of any kind and we do not warrant that the information presented herein is free of any errors or omissions. We are only sharing our experiences. 

So how does that affect Autoimmune diseases?

It is thought that a “disease state” is made once the intestinal wall has been breached. Many researchers are now linking a leaky gut (an unhealthy gut) to potentially being one of the catalysts of an autoimmune disease due to the inflammatory response it causes in the body. Some researchers even calling leaky gut a precursor paving the way to autoimmunity.³

This isn’t a new thought research on the link between Autoimmunity and leaky gut dates back over a decade. So how can we keep our Gut healthy?

Diet

Avoiding the standard American diet of high sugar/ fat with low fiber.⁴ Instead opting for an anti-inflammatory whole foods rich diet. Check out my article on reversing leaky gut for a more in-depth look at gut-healthy diet options. 

Manage stress

Unmanaged prolonged stress can weaken your body’s immune system which can result in increased inflammation and increased intestinal permeability.⁶ Learn how to healthy manage stress in your day-to-day life. 

Ways to reduce stress

• Get your body moving (any physical activity)
• Spending time with God (reading your bible, etc!)
• Journaling
• Meditation
• Getting enough sleep
• Setting aside time just for you
• Picking up a new hobby
• Stretching

Reduce NSAIDs use

Medications like antibiotics, aspirin (NSAIDs), anti-inflammatory medications, acid-reflux medications, and antidepressants can all play a hand in causing a leaky gut. NSAIDs specifically have been found to alter diversity in the gut microbiome resulting in an imbalance known as gut dysbiosis.⁵ I reduced my use of NSAIDs and switched to natural remedies. Always talk to your doctor and do what works best for your but if your interest in natural remedies I will link a couple articles I’ve written below!

“Natural remedies for inflammation”

“4 Natural remedies for joint inflammation”

Toxin exposure 

Daily we come across over 80,000 chemicals and toxic substances. We live in a toxic chemical world of pesticides and preservatives. Where even tap water can be the culprit of daily toxic exposure. I recommend downloading the EWG app. It allows you to look up everyday products you use on your skin and gives you a report on the overall safety of the product. This was a great way for me to start detoxifying my house. It opened my eyes to the harmful chemicals I was willingly putting on my skin daily. From there I looked into non-toxic cleaners, a water purifying system, and non-toxic house products like candles.

I’ve cut out around 70% of toxic household products, skincare products, haircare products, and etc. It definitely takes time and a lot of research to find new products that work for me.

Healthy Gut habits

Here are a few best practices for nourishing a healthy gut. To read more on gut health click here!

• gut healthy diet fuel of fiber, probiotic and prebiotic-rich foods, leafy greens, foods rich in omega-3s, etc.
• get on a regular sleep schedule
• switch to non-toxic products
• Reduce the use of NSAIDs (acetaminophen) 
• manage stress properly 
• Try out natural remedies

Healing my gut has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. Don’t get me wrong it has not been the easiest when it comes to changing my diet, lifestyle, learning how to manage my emotions in a healthy way, and even all the way down to my favorite skincare products/ household products. But the increased energy, reduced pain, reduced mood swings, and improvement of my Autoimmune diseases make it hard to think about the things I have gave up to heal my gut. 

Check out our Free Resource Library for free meal prep printables, symptom severity trackers, and more! All printables you find there I made on my Gut healing journey and am happy to now be able to share with you all!

citations:

1. Wiertsema SP, van Bergenhenegouwen J, Garssen J, Knippels LMJ. The Interplay between the Gut Microbiome and the Immune System in the Context of Infectious Diseases throughout Life and the Role of Nutrition in Optimizing Treatment Strategies. Nutrients. 2021 Mar 9;13(3):886. doi: 10.3390/nu13030886. PMID: 33803407; PMCID: PMC8001875.
2. Leech, Bradley & McEwen, Bradley & Sekyere, Eric. (2020). Diet, Digestive Health, and Autoimmunity: The Foundations to an Autoimmune Disease Food Pyramid—Part 1. Alternative and Complementary Therapies. 26. 112-118. 10.1089/act.2020.29278.ble.
3. Paray BA, Albeshr MF, Jan AT, Rather IA. Leaky Gut and Autoimmunity: An Intricate Balance in Individuals Health and the Diseased State. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Dec 21;21(24):9770. doi: 10.3390/ijms21249770. PMID: 33371435; PMCID: PMC7767453.
4. Michael W Rohr, Chandrakala A Narasimhulu, Trina A Rudeski-Rohr, Sampath Parthasarathy, Negative Effects of a High-Fat Diet on Intestinal Permeability: A Review, Advances in Nutrition, Volume 11, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 77–91, https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmz061
5. Wilson ID, Nicholson JK. Gut microbiome interactions with drug metabolism, efficacy, and toxicity. Transl Res. 2017 Jan;179:204-222. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2016.08.002. Epub 2016 Aug 13. PMID: 27591027; PMCID: PMC5718288.
6. Madison A, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Stress, depression, diet, and the gut microbiota: human-bacteria interactions at the core of psychoneuroimmunology and nutrition. Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2019 Aug;28:105-110. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.01.011. Epub 2019 Mar 25. PMID: 32395568; PMCID: PMC7213601.

Resources:

• The Interplay between the Gut Microbiome and the Immune System in the Context of Infectious Diseases throughout Life and the Role of Nutrition in Optimizing Treatment Strategies
• Medications That Cause Leaky Gut
• Stress, depression, diet, and the gut microbiota: human–bacteria interactions at the core of psychoneuroimmunology and nutrition